Category: blog stuff

I have snagged and adapted this tag from Amy Jane Smith on YouTube. This is, obviously, a booktube tag, but I don’t booktube and thought this tag would work just as well on the blog.

1) Are there any books you plan on reading over the Autumn season?

I have quite a stack of graphic novels set aside for Dewey’s this month. I also plan on finishing Victoria by Daisy Goodwin and starting The Pearl and the Carnelian by Annabel Fielding. These are both currently on my NetGalley shelf. I also want to read more Sherlock Holmes stories. I’ll download those for my iPad. I also plan on reading a collection of short stories called Rogues that was edited by George R. R. Martin. I’ve preordered The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon that will be released on Nov 1 and I will read as soon as I open the box.2) September brings back to school memories: what book did you most enjoy studying? And what were your favourite and least favourite school subjects?

The book I most enjoyed studying in school was Animal Farm. I remember liking how the animals in the book were representative of real people, leaders and such. Funny thing, my oldest daughter thinks this book is creepy, lol. My favorite subject, I think I’m cheating a little bit here, but it was Vampires in Myth and Culture that I took during my undergrad. By far, my most favorite class EVER. Least favorite, back to high school, was p.e. I suck at sports. I have no coordination or endurance for that matter. I hate being the center of attention, which happens often when you have the ball or, in my case, when you miss the ball. Gym class was painful for me and still remains as a painful memory.3) October means Halloween: do you enjoy scary books and films? If so what are some of your favourites?

I used to really love scary movies. The older I get, the less I enjoy being jolted by things jumping out on screen. Usually, when I know something scary is about to happen, I can’t stand the suspense and just look away from the screen. I’m such an old fuddy duddy. I’d rather read scary books, but I haven’t found too many that I like. I did like Pet Cemetery both the movie and the book. The same for Misery. I’d really like to find some non Stephen King books though since I don’t read his novels anymore.4) With November it’s time for bonfire night & firework displays. What’s the most exciting book you’ve read that really kept you gripped?

This is really British, lol. We don’t have bonfire night and we have fireworks displays for the 4th of July. Anyway…The entire Outlander series, In Death series, The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore, A Study in Scarlet. There are others, but those are what popped into my head.5) What book is your favorite cosy comfort read?

I love rereading the In Death books because they’re familiar and I love the characters so much. I would consider them to my coziest, comfort reads. Also, Harry Potter. Those are definitely cozy reads for the autumn. It might be time for a reread…6) Curled up with a good book, what is your hot drink of choice?

I enjoy both coffee and tea. Hot cider and mulled wine (as long as they’re not too sweet) are good as special treats but not something I have very often. Coffee and tea are mainstays throughout the year.7) Any plans you’re looking forward to over the next few months?

Nothing that I can think of. My daughter was recently in a car accident and while she didn’t sustain any severe injuries, she did have some injuries that we’re dealing with right now. Between doctor’s appointments and waiting for the ball to drop from our insurance company, we’re kind of in limbo. I guess you could say that I’m looking forward to all of that being resolved, good or bad.

I saw this posted on Adoptabooksaus and couldn’t resist joining in. This is a good tag! Without Goodreads, I’d buy a lot more duplicates of books than I already do, heheh.

What was the last book you marked as “read”? That would be Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. I’m not reviewing this book here unless I get a request to do so, but suffice it to say I only rated it as 2 stars on Goodreads and it took me three weeks to read it. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book.

What are you currently reading? I just started Victoria by Daisy Goodwin yesterday and I’m loving it! If I didn’t have to take care of my daughter (was recently in a car accident), I could’ve had this book read in a day, I like it so much.

What was the latest book you marked as “tbr”? That would be Cogheart by Peter Bunzl. Someone recently posted an interview with this author on a blog I follow and it sounded like a book that’d be right up my alley, so I added it.

What book do you plan to read next? Good question. Nothing on my bookshelves has been catching my eye lately. What I really want to read are the graphic novels I have set aside for Dewey’s Readathon. It has taken all my self restraint to NOT read them. I suppose I’ll read The Pearl and the Carnelian by Annabel Fielding since it’s a NetGalley book.

Are you doing a 2016 Reading Challenge? I am! For a while, I was worried that I wouldn’t meet my goal for this year. I was something like seven books behind schedule at one point. As of this writing, I have read 55 of 65 books. That’s 85% of my goal and I’m four books ahead of schedule. Woohoo!!

Do you have a wishlist? On Goodreads, I mark books that I want to read as “to read” and if I don’t already own them, I add the shelf “need to buy”. That’s basically my wish list. My husband knows to peruse my “need to buy” shelf for gift ideas.

What book do you plan to buy next? This couldn’t be an easier question. I plan on buying Geminaby Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It’s the second book in the Illuminae series and I’m sad that I don’t already have it in my hands. 😦

Do you have any favorite quotes? Share a few.

“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Stories

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (The only Austen novel I like)

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”
― Oscar Wilde

This week’s prompt is Top Ten names I’d give a pet (pet is my choice here.).

I’m really horrible at naming my pets. We once had a rabbit that was the breed mini Rex we named him Rex. We’re original and imaginative like that. Borrowing names from literary characters is slightly more original, lol.

Eeyore for a basset hound. I really think that Eeyore would be the perfect fit for a basset hound.

Finn (Huckleberry Finn). This might be cute for a fish is you named your fish, lol. (We do, so stop laughing.) But it would work for a cat or a dog too.

Fitz(gerald). Again, I think Fitz would be good for either a cat or a dog.

Francis (the “F” in F. Scott Fitzgerald) for a cat. Seems more fitting than for a dog.

Gertrude for a cat. (Gertrude Stein)

Maggie for a cat. (Margaret Atwood)

Harry for a dog. (Harry Potter)

Piglet for a guinea pig. I always like a pig themed name for guinea pigs. We once had one named Bacon and he was much beloved.

Today is National Coffee day. Do we really need an excuse to indulge??

I wracked my brains trying to remember books where coffee played a more prominent role and could only come up with J.D. Robb’s In Death series. The main character, Eve, has a weakness for coffee and her ultra gazillionaire husband provides her with the real stuff in an age where most people have to drink a soy substitute. That sounds like the ick to me.

National Coffee Day also brings to mind the television show Gilmore Girls. The opening scene in the first episode takes place in Luke’s Diner with Lorelei begging Luke for a cup. Both Lorelei and her daughter Rory, for those unfamiliar with the show and if you are, why haven’t you watched it yet?!?, are coffee addicts.

For me, this is a non-caffeine day (I should’ve planned my week better) so no coffee for me. I’m trying to cut back on my caffeine intake and instead, have substituted it for lots of water and B 12 supplements, lol. Still, there’s nothing better than a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee and a good book in hand. Amiright?? This is why I will never completely cut out caffeine. I know, decaffinated, but I don’t work that way. Plus, I absolutely LOVE green tea and chai tea too. You aren’t taking my tea AND my coffee AND my vanilla Coke from me. But, I am cutting waaaaay back so that’s an improvement. And this is off topic now.

Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying today with your favorite brew in your favorite cup with a FANTASTIC book somewhere in the world today.

I’ll make this an introduction of sorts. I’m Trisha. I’m a 30’something mom to two teenagers, one dog, and three cats. I’m very happily married going on 19 years. I’m turning into a lifetime student, even though that isn’t my intention. I’ve been attending college off and on since 2004. I’m currently attending Kent State University, long distance, studying to get my Masters Degree in Library and Information Science. I’m specializing in museum studies, hoping that I will be able to land a job in a history museum someday. I’m also one of those really annoying Americans that can’t get enough of all things European. Well, mostly British and Scottish history with some French Revolutionary history thrown in for good measure. My ultimate dream job would be to work in a castle or historical manor home as a museum curator in the UK somewhere.

On top of being a bibliophile, anglophile, and francophile, I’m also a crazy cat lady. I have three cats, Leo, Winnie, and Bean (short for NillaBean). I want more cats but my husband is doing his best to keep me from being the neighborhood kook.

We live on Florida’s Gulf coast aka the Redneck Riviera. Our home flooded back on April 30 during that supposed “historic” rain storm that hit us. So far, no hurricanes though. ::knock wood:: I drink lotsa coffee and tea down here. In the air conditioning, of course. Oh. And wine. Don’t forget the wine.

My plan here is to review books, post pictures of books, post book, author, and publishing news, and network with other book bloggers. I’m also entertaining the idea of linking with a booktube but I haven’t been able to push myself to that yet. I am one of those people that prefer to be behind the camera and not in the picture. I actually worry that if I die suddenly, my kids won’t have enough pictures to remember me by, lol.

I hope that other book bloggers will network with me here and everywhere else that I can be found on the interwebs (see the About Me page).